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'Arrive' is intransitive and needs a preposition before the place; 'reach' and 'get to' go directly before the destination.
Side-by-side comparison
"Arrive" always needs a preposition before the place: "in" for cities and countries, "at" for specific places. Never say "arrive London" directly.
We arrived at the hotel after a long flight and went straight to bed.
She arrived late to the meeting and apologized to everyone in the room.
The package arrived earlier than expected, which was a nice surprise.
She arrived at the airport two hours before her flight.
They arrived in Paris on a rainy Tuesday morning.
"Reach" and "get to" go directly before the place, without a preposition. "Reach" sounds more formal; "get to" is more natural in conversation.
It took us three hours to reach the top of the mountain, but it was worth it.
The ambulance reached the scene in under five minutes.
How long does it take to get to the airport from here by taxi?
We reached the summit after six hours of climbing.
Call me when you reach the hotel.
Common mistake
- •The most frequent mistake: "arrive to".
- •The preposition depends on the destination: "arrive in" for cities and countries, "arrive at" for specific places, never "arrive to".
- •"Reach" is direct with no preposition: "We reached the top", not "reached to the top".
Trick to remember it
Think about the size of the destination. A city or a country is a large area: "arrive in". An exact point, like the airport or the office: "arrive at". And with "reach" and "get to" no extra preposition is needed.
Quick rule
"Arrive in" city/country. "Arrive at" specific place. Never "arrive to". "Reach" + place (no preposition). "Get home/here/there" (no "to" before adverbs).
Did you know?
"Arrive" needs a preposition, and the choice depends on the kind of place: "in" for a container such as a city or a country (arrive in London), "at" for a specific point such as a station or a building (arrive at the station). "Reach" needs none: "We reached the top". And "arrive to" is not used in English.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
What time did you _____ the airport? Was the taxi on time?
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She arrived _____ Paris on a rainy Tuesday morning.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Exercise 4 · Pick the right one
We _____ the hotel just before midnight. The staff were still at reception.
Exercise 5 · Pick the right one
She _____ at the station twenty minutes early. She had plenty of time.
Exercise 6 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One moves something toward you, the other moves it away from you.
One moves toward the speaker, the other moves away from the speaker.
'In' goes with broad periods; 'on' goes with specific days and dates; 'at' goes with exact moments.
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy